Broken
by goldenxsunshine
Summary: "But…why? After all this time…" McGonagall shook her head. The Headmaster sat down. "It wasn't the right time," he said simply. "And now is?" she asked, raising her voice slightly. He nodded again. "Now, it is."  Set during Order of the Phoenix
1. Prologue

Albus Dumbledore paced around his study. There was a knock at the door and Minerva McGonagall entered. "You wanted to see me Albus?" Dumbledore nodded his head. "Yes, come in, quickly please." He walked over to the door and shut the door as soon as Minerva entered. Professor McGonagall found Dumbledore's behavior odd. He seemed rather uptight instead of his usual serene self. "I've seen that Potter is in bed Professor. Mr. Weasley is looking after him. Potter seems pretty calm after everything that he's been through tonight." Dumbledore nodded absentmindedly. Professor McGonagall realized that something else was going on. "What is this about Albus?" she asked, not able to keep the worry out of her voice. He muttered something that sounded like "Should've worked by now.." He sent a worried glance over Minerva's shoulder before starting to pace again. The transfiguration teacher turned around to see what he'd glanced at. When she saw what was behind her she let out a small gasp. "Albus.." A large medal, medical table was in the center of the room. A young woman with long blonde hair laid there unmoving. "Is that…" Professor McGonagall trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. Albus Dumbledore nodded his head. "But…_why? _After all this time…" McGonagall shook her head. The Headmaster sat down behind his desk and sighed heavily. "It wasn't the right time," he said simply. "And now is?" she asked, raising her voice slightly. He nodded again. "Now, it is." McGonagall sighed, admitting defeat. She knew she wouldn't get any further explanation from Dumbledore, not now at least. "No one else can know," he said after a moment. "Not yet. We need to keep this a secret." Minerva nodded her head, letting Albus know that she'd keep his secret. "Thank you Minerva." Across the room, the girl on the table began to cough.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi! I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has favorited, alerted, and reviewed so far! I'm really glad that you guys like it so far! :) I'm not exactly sure how often I'll be able to put up new chapters. It'll really depend on the week and how busy I am, but there will at least be one new chapter a week. I'm going to go back and forth between different characters' P.O.V.s in the different chapters. This chapter is in Harry's P.O.V. **

Harry Potter had enjoyed his week at number 12, Grimmauld Place so far, even with all of the cleaning Mrs. Weasley had made them do. Now, the Weasleys, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye, and Harry were all in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was finishing up dinner, and the adults were getting ready for the Order's meeting later. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, even Sirius. Harry had noticed that his godfather was always in a better mood when more of the Order was there. Harry guessed that it made him feel more like a part of the group and less like he was useless.

Currently, Mad-Eye was telling them all a story from when he'd just started at the auror office. The twins were hanging on his every word, and even Hermione had cracked a smile.

Everyone was notified of a new addition by Mrs. Black's screams. "Stains of dishonour, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of filth!" A familiar chuckle sounded and Albus Dumbledore walked into the room. He was greeted with cheers. He held up his hands to silence everyone. "I have a surprise for everyone," he looked around, his gaze lingering on each of the adults.

A thousand thoughts went through Harry's mind. Maybe the Ministry had finally cleared Sirius. Perhaps he could finally leave Grimmauld Place. Maybe Harry could even come and live with him like they talked about third year.

Dumbledore turned back towards the door to the kitchens. "You can come in now my dear." A girl slowly walked in. She looked to be about Bill's age. She had long, wavy golden blonde hair and big round blue eyes. Harry had no idea who she was. He looked around at the others. He could tell that Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were just as confused as he was. The adults, on the other hand, seemed to know who the girl was because every single one of them had stopped what the were doing and were staring open-mouthed. Remus was looking at Sirius curiously. Sirius had a very odd expression on his face that Harry couldn't quite make out. Finally, Mad-Eye broke the silence. He hobbled over to the blonde and threw a arm around her shoulders. "'Bout time Dumbledore!" He turned to the girl and said, "We've missed ya kid. Welcome back." _Back from where?_ Harry wondered. She broke into a huge grin. "Good to be back Mad-Eye." Sirius slowly got to his feet. "Padfoot.." Remus began, a concerned look came over his face. He reached out and grabbed Sirius's arm. Sirius shook it off. Several things happened at once. Sirius had one hand wrapped around the blonde's throat and the other hand was pointing his wand at her. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Remus, Kingsley, and Mad-Eye all pulled out their wands and pointed them at Sirius. Harry leapt up. "Now, now," Dumbledore started. "Let's all calm down." Everyone sat down except for Sirius and Remus. "You heard Dumbledore, sit down Sirius," Remus said through clinched teeth. Sirius didn't make any indication that he'd heard Remus at all. "Remus, Sirius has a right to figure out the truth for himself," Dumbledore said calmly. "Carry on Sirius." "But-" Dumbledore shook his head and Remus slowly sat back down. It was eerily silent until Sirius finally spoke up. "What's the last thing I said to you?" The girl thought for a minute, then laughed. "You told me to shut up. That's the last thing I remember at least." Sirius let go of her and before Harry could blink he was out of the kitchen, the door swinging behind him. Mrs. Weasley walked over and pulled the girl into a hug. "Well, Sirius'll come around. He always does, doesn't he? Now, why don't you come in and have some dinner."

After being kicked out of the kitchen for the Order meeting, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Harry had gathered in Harry and Ron's room. "So what do you think about-?" Ron started. With a loud crack, Fred and George apparated into the room. "So what do we think about Lexi?" George asked. Ron glared at him. "I was going to ask that." Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's definitely interesting, isn't it?" "How so?" Harry asked curiously. "I mean, it's obvious that all of the adults know her really well, but she seems to be Bill's age. And then, there's the question: if she's come back, where has she been?" Ginny nodded in agreement. "All of the adults seemed to know, but no one seemed to eager to explain." Fred grinned. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking Georgie?" George grinned back at his twin. "Always, Freddie.

Only a few minutes later the six of them were huddled together on the stairs. Fred and George had made enough extendable ears for all of them. "Okay, lower them down slowly or they'll just fall," Fred warned. The fleshy string was almost to the kitchen door when it swung open unexpectedly. They all yanked the ears up a few feet. "I thought the meeting was still going on," Ron whispered. "It is", Hermione whispered back. "Then who-" Harry began, but Hermione shushed him and pointed to the stairs. Someone was walking up. Harry started to panic, but whoever is was stopped. Harry listened hard, trying to determine who it was, but all he could hear was small sobs. He looked at the others, but they shrugged, unsure as well. The heavy kitchen door swung open again. "Lexi?" someone called. "That's Remus," Harry whispered. "And Lexi's the one crying," Hermione finished. Remus's steps were heard as he joined Lexi on the stairs. He sighed. "Are you okay?" "Y-yeah. I'm fine." "No. No, you're not." Remus sighed again. "You always say that after you and Sirius fight." Lexi gave a weak laugh. "But I'm always fine in the end." "Yeah, but this time seems different. He shouldn't have said what he said." "That's Sirius." "That doesn't make it right, or any less hurtful." Lexi started sobbing softly. "But, he's right." Remus started to protest, but she stopped him." "No, it's my fault, and he's never going to forgive me." "You two always work it out in the end." "Not this time."


End file.
